If you’re an active computer nerd, blogger, videographer, social media butterfly, job seeker, or anyone existing in the realm of today, then at some point down the road you will begin to run out of space on your hard drive or the amount of RAM (Memory) that is being used on your laptop, tablet, desktop, etc. We’re always excited to buy a new word processor, as you start the screen, everything looks fresh, clean, and simple, even the amount of gigabytes being used on your hard drive is barely touched. Before you know it, five years go by and when you accidentally stumble upon that hard drive screen again, the meter is in red because all you have is less than 2 gigs of hard drive space. Besides, it takes minutes to open a new tab or webpage when it took seconds to open up back in the older days when you weren’t bombarded with consistent system updates and lagging issues. These are steps to increase the performance of your computer.

DON’T MESS WITH SYSTEM 32

If there is one thing you should NEVER do is delete System 32. System 32 by now has its own definition on Urban Dictionary – urbandictionary.com/system32 and powers your computer, without that the word processor becomes a vegetable or empty shell. Sure getting rid of those files may run your PC faster, but it will also obliterate them. Don’t believe any video or online feeds that say to delete files in your Run or Preface. However, you could use Disc Cleanup.

Disc Cleanup

If you’re going to use Disc Cleanup only delete temporary files that have no significance toward your hard drive. When I ran a recent Disc Cleanup, I just deleted the options that were already suggested with a check mark. I would not advise checking anything else off as I saw performed in one video. That’s just stupid. Don’t fall for those trollers. Click the Start button, then search through All Programs. Click the Accessories folder and then hit System Tools. Search for Disc Cleanup. Hit Disc Cleanup and then click “Files from all users on this computer”. The box will appear for you check off. I suggest only to delete the ones that are already marked and before you hit Ok make sure they aren’t any important files. The convenience of your system will save the information, so the next time you want to perform Disc Cleanup it will show up once you click Start at the button left of the screen.

Delete Browsing History

Any web browser that you use whether it’s Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer saves browsing data that potentially adds clutter to the cyber highway of memory speed. My father said think of RAM like a freeway where information is constantly flowing across cyberspace. When you add updates, download, create videos, etc. that gap shrinks as it begins getting plugged like a clogging artery. To delete browsing history on Google Chrome just press CTRL and H on the keyboard or click the triple dash line at the top right on the screen and under that tab, hit History. You will be proceeded by a page filled with all your past website searches and views. It lists the times and days. Click the “Clear Browsing History” button and a square box will appear called “Clear browsing data”. Make sure that the items highlighted are set to be obliterated at “the beginning of time”. Hit “Clear browsing history” and after a few seconds of loading, all of that stored internet information will dissipate. For Internet Explorer, click the Safety button at the top right and look for history. Follow the same steps as above for Mozilla Firefox.

Uninstall/Change Programs

For every computer, this step will have different variations, but the same principle applies. Deleting programs you don’t need or want will give your PC or Mac a lot more space and organize your operating system much better. You can finally delete those useless programs you automatically had when you first installed your computer.  I also would rid any other programs that came with a bundle, that do nothing but create unnecessary add-ons or are there unwillingly. Sometimes programs we think we’re going to use wind up being placed on the waist side. If you’re not using that program now and don’t plan on running it anytime soon, then scrap it. If you’re unsure if you should delete a program go to shouldiremoveit.com. That site explains what the program does in a nutshell. Just type the name of the program in the search bar. When you do plan to uninstall programs look down the list for useless programs that have a size of about 10 megabytes (MB) and over.

To uninstall programs go to the Start button on the stable lower tab and then hit Control Panel. This will take you to all your system’s mechanics and features. Click or search for “uninstall a program”. A page with every program will appear on a long list and be sorted in a table by Name, Publisher, Installed On, and Size. Go down the list and take your time. Once you find programs to throw out, click on the program and an Uninstall button or another similar word will appear based on another PC or Mac. Click that button at the top where a small rectangle will ask if you really want to delete the program. Make sure it’s an unwanted program and not one you’re going to need. Sometimes the program will need your permission to continue to the deleting screen. Based on the program, there may be an installation Wizard box. Make sure to click uninstall or delete and then finish. Repeat the process for all unwanted programs.

Delete Videos or Unwanted Files on Desktop

This part is mainly done manually. Starting with videos, if you have an abundance of film you took when you were experimenting with your webcam, delete all of those or drag them to your recycle bin. For some odd reason, videos take up a considerable amount of space. Multiply that by a few hundred and you have a fully bloated hard drive. Unless you’re a YouTuber or an aspiring filmmaker you probably should delete 90% of your videos. You will be much happier in the end.

On the desktop or documents, if you see any folders, video games, or other files you stopped using for any reason just highlight them with SHIFT and the Left Mouse button or highlight specific ones with CTRL and Left Mouse button. Right click on the highlighted information and go to delete. Another way would be to press the left mouse button and drag the files into the recycle bin.

Empty Recycle Bin

This is a quick step, but sometimes overlooked. Whether you have items in your trash from before or added new ones, empty the items in your recycle bin so they disappear forever. There is also a way to restore any files you might have accidentally placed in that void. A way to access the Recycle Bin is either clicking on the Shortcut marker on your Desktop screen that has a thumbnail of a garbage pale or find it through the Start button and your main computer matrix on the left side where all the folders are listed. Click Empty the recycle bin and a sound of crumbling paper will ensue. Those files are now completely deleted.

Run a Full System Scan

If you have Apple iOS you might not have to perform this. Except all PC’s require programs to protect your computer from harmful viruses. Simply find the associated virus protecting software and click on the shortcut. Look for where you can scan and follow the steps to perform a full system scan, not a quick scan, as that process can overlook extra cookies. Let the computer perform this task which can take up from several hours to a day. That depends on how many stored files you have saved. I advise to let the full scan run on its own. Close out all other windows, tabs, or programs as those will slow the process. As the scan runs, cookies and potential viruses will pile up. At the end of the scan, you can safely eradicate all viral clutter.

System Configuration

This feature shows what programs are currently running on your computer. However, when you have all of these programs running Startup at one time, it heavily slows down your RAM. To change this click the Start button and type in System Configuration in the search bar. Once you click the icon you will be asked to either hit continue or cancel, press Continue. Then the System Configuration properties will appear. There are five tabs called, General, Boot, Services, Startup, and Tools. Click on the Startup and uncheck nearly everything othe list. Only keep something you think the computer will need at Startup. Once you go through the list hit Apply which will disable each unchecked software and click OK. Another thing you can do is go to Boot tab, click on No GUI boot and set the Timeout to 3 seconds. Then hit Advanced Options and check the Number of Processors. There will be 1 and 2, click number 2 and then hit Ok. You can even uncheck certain services that won’t take away from the presentation of your PC, but will make it much faster. Watch to see what software those are on a video down below. Once you’re finished a screen may pop up asking to restart your computer. You can either hit restart or wait and perform Disk Defragmenter.

Perform Disk Defragmenter

Defragmenting your hard drive condenses all files and places them in one section rather than leaving them scrambled. The scattered files create obstacles in the way of the RAM highway. This consolidation will greatly increase the speed and the space of your word processor.  To do this either search for Disk Defragmenter in the Start button or find it in the Control Panel under Defragment your hard drive. Other Windows or iOS may have different variations. Once you press the icon, hit continue which will take you to the Disk Defragmenter square. You can modify and schedule a time to perform the next Disk Defragmentation and/or press Defragment Now. Once you click that button, the task will perform from hours to a day. Leave your screen up and close out all other windows and programs to speed up and enhance the process. Once the system goes through an entire defragment, restart your computer.

Once the computer is restarted, check your hard drive space by clicking Start and then going to Computer. It will show how many gigabytes you have remaining of free space. This line should now be in blue. To check for the systems speed performance go to Control Panel from the Start button and then click on System and Maintenance. Then go to Check for Windows Experience Index base score. This will display the performance scores of the Processor, Memory (RAM), Graphics, Gaming graphics, and Primary hard disk. The base score will appear on the right which is the lowest score of all the components. The three important ones to look at are the Processor, RAM, and Primary hard disk. If you have a total RAM of 4 gigs, the numbers should be around that if not higher.

Optional: Change the Settings and etc.

This option is strictly for Windows Vista users. Windows Vista was the operating system back in 2007 that had so many issues with speed that several YouTubers and experienced IT techs found ways to improve customers’ processing experience. Check out these two videos that demonstrate how Windows Vista can become a joyful processor to use. The same principles can be applied to Windows XP, Windows 7 and possibly 8 or 8.1. Things may just be formatted differently. Raise the volume as the speakers tend to mumble a bit. If you apply these steps, I’m sure computing will be much more convenient.

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